Last January, Microsoft was making everyone’s day with a free yearlong upgrade for Windows 10, even people who had non-genuine copies of the OS. You knew that was too good to be true people, so they’ve revised their wording to make sure it’s more clear. Basically, if you have a non-genuine version of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, feel free to upgrade, but that won’t make your copy magically become genuine. You know how they are, and with this huge splash they’re making with Windows 10, they’re going to make sure to lose as little money as possible to pirated copies.
Microsoft has clarified a recent comment about owners of unlicensed versions of Windows 7 and 8.1 being able to upgrade to Windows 10.
At the WinHec conference in China on Tuesday, Microsoft’s operating system chief Terry Myerson told Reuters that “we are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10.” The remark was aimed at China where software piracy has been a huge problem for Microsoft. But the news certainly brought smiles to the faces of anyone who runs a non-genuine copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 and suddenly thought that an upgrade toWindows 10 would bring legitimacy.
Windows pirates may need to wipe those smiles off their faces. A spokeswoman for Microsoft clarified the upgrade process indicating that the version of Windows 10 doesn’t magically become licensed if you upgrade from an unlicensed version:
With Windows 10, although nongenuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license. Nongenuine Windows is not published by Microsoft. It is not properly licensed, or supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. If a device was considered nongenuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered nongenuine or mislicensed after the upgrade.
PC sales may be in a slump and Windows 8 demand has been lackluster, but Windows continues to be one of Microsoft’s core revenue generators, both on the consumer and corporate sides. As such, the company obviously loses a chunk of change anytime a non-licensed version of Windows is installed. Pirated versions of Windows have especially been prevalent in China where around 75 percent of PC software is not properly licensed, Reuters said, citing recent studies.
In 2011, then-CEO Steve Ballmer told employees that Microsoft’s revenue in China represented only 5 percent of sales in the US, implying that much of its software in China is pirated and unlicensed.
So what exactly happens if you run a non-genuine current version of Windows?
As Microsoft describes the situation on its Genuine Windows page, you’ll see frequent messages warning you that your copy of Windows may not be genuine. Your desktop will turn to black. You can reset it, but it will continue to turn black until you activate Windows. You can still get critical security updates, though you may not be able to get optional updates or other software, such as Microsoft Security Essentials. But otherwise, Windows and your applications will still be able to function. Of course, this information applies to the existing versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 and not necessarily to the still-developing Windows 10.
Microsoft could certain disable non-genuine versions of Windows from running altogether, at least after a certain period of time. But the company then runs the risk of losing users who may not have activated the software or who may decide to pay for it just to eliminate the annoying messages and darkened desktop.
Windows 10 is slated to roll out this summer across 190 countries and 111 languages. The software will be a free upgrade to users running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
We start this week on the rumor mill with none other than the Kardashians and their crazy, hopeless family drama that Kim Kardashian is surely going to run to mama Kris as she always does with her brother. The few times I’ve seen Keeping Up with the Kardashians, I’ve rooted for his side as Kim and Mama Kris really know how to hit a man below the belt when he’s down.
Here Is The Celebrity Gossip Roundup:
Rob Kardashian Goes All Gone Girl On Kim Kardashian
So with Rob Kardashian’s recent diss about his sister pretty much being a pyscho, this really gives some insight into who Kim Kardashian really is. Or at least that what it seems to me. I mean come on, he call her the crazy ass, fake your death, do anything for attention, lie, screw , fake to get your way to the top (among other things) girl from the Gone Girl movie. If you haven’t seen that film, then you probably don’t see the big deal. If you have seen it, you know exactly what he is talking about. Amy Dunne was a super sociopath, spoiled rich girl that did whatever she felt and wanted to get national attention. I am sorry but that just sounds too similar to Kim Kardashian.
And the way he did it says a lot too. He didn’t just put a comment or tweet about it, this dude posted a picture of Amy Dunne covered in blood walking down the street. Then, he unfollowed all of his family on Instagram and didn’t go to Kim’s wedding. Whatever is going on with them has him all kinds of pissed and upset. Whatever bad blood he had with them, just boiled over into social media.
And for the record, I don’t think he is kidding. Naturally, the family and close ‘sources’ are blaming Rob massive weight gain feeling that he’s depressed and spreading negative energy everywhere. I think many viewers of the show are saying that the poor kid never stood a chance in life with Mama Kris and trying to survive that shark infested terrain they called a family.
Taraji P. Hensons Pays Big To Send Her Son to HBCU
We all know that Taraji P. Henson does not play when it comes to her son. It seems that she doesn’t play at all. Growing up in the Oxen Hill area of DC (for those that know the locale) you can understand totally why she doesn’t.
Well, it is reported that due to her son being racially profiled near the campus of the University of Southern California (USC).
“I’m not paying $50K so I can’t sleep at night wondering is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus.”
I feel what she is saying and here where she is coming from but to be honest, going to an UBCU is not going to stop that shit from happening. It happens all the time and with the gentrification that has taken place around Howard University (which is her alma mater and where she plans to send her son) who is to say that it won’t happen there. I do commend her on taking acting and refusing to give money to a system that probably calls for police to racially profile (USC isn’t in the best spot of Los Angeles). Good for her and good luck to her son.
Tamar Braxton Treated for Anxiety Attack
Tamar was reportedly rushed to a hospital because of an anxiety attack. If it is true that that is the reason she was rushed to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California from the set of her talk show The Real, since it has been reported that she and her husband Vince Herbert own $1.6 million in taxes, can you really blame her?
People don’t just have anxiety attacks for no reason. There has to be something going on that warrants them to almost loose their damn minds and not be able to breathe. While of course she is trying to save face in light of the whole situation, there is no getting around the fact that money issues is a major reason for so many negative and unfortunate things that happen in our world today.
Teen Mom Blames Diabetes for Car Crash
Mackenzie McKee, on of the stars of the unfortunate MTV show 16 and Pregnant, recently crashed her brand new car in Oklahoma and she is saying that diabetes is to blame. The McKee says that due to high sugar levels, she zoned out while driving which caused her to suddenly swerve off the road destroying the Kia Sorento she just bought the day before. Damn
Now for the part that really sucks- Chick didn’t have insurance yet. This means she now has to pay $26,000 because of her lack of insurance, which she got a ticket for. Let this be a lesson that you always, always, always get insurance before you even leave the damn lot because you never know what can happen.
The Fight Over Empire
We all knew it was bound to happen, I am just surprised it didn’t happen sooner. A real life “record label” that goes by the name of Empire Distribution (they distribute and publish material for artists like Kendrick Lamar and Snoop) is claiming that FOX used their name for the hit show Empire and has no right to do so because it tarnishing their brand. Fox has filed a lawsuit against the record label who claims that the fictitious show’s main character Lucious Lyon’s homophobic, drug dealing, murderous behavior is hurting the real life label’s rep.
Furthermore, Empire Distribution wants Fox to pay $8 million ($5 million if the show uses Empire Distribution’s artists as regulars). Fox is definitely on going down without a fight though stating that the label is relatively obscure being that it shows up somewhere on the 7th page of a Google search.
Wow… people nowadays will try to do whatever they can to get money.
From its start on Tuesday with the First Four, the 2015 NCAA men’s basketball tournament has not disappointed. Just like the tournaments of the past few years, this year’s edition provided plenty of upset action as the Second Round got underway on Thursday and Friday. Here’s a look at how the first weekend finished up.
No Surprises From Kentucky
Now 36-0, Kentucky proved that it is indeed the nation’s best with easy wins over No. 16 Hampton and following it up with a 64-51 victory over a pesky Cincinnati squad. The balance of the Wildcats was evident once again as sophomore guard Aaron Harrison led Kentucky with 13 points and 6-foot-10 freshman Trey Lyles added 11 and 11 rebounds. Head coach John Calipari watched as his defense held the Bearcats to just 31 percent shooting from the field. Kentucky advances to the Sweet 16 to face West Virginia/Maryland.
Georgia State Pulls Shocker
A number 14 seed, Georgia State pulled what was easily the biggest upset of the tournament with a 57-56 win over No. 3 Baylor. Panthers guard R.J. Hunter, the coach’s son, hit a 3-pointer from way beyond the arc in the final seconds to give Georgia State its first NCAA tourney win.
UCLA Advances To Sweet 16
It will most likely go down as the most controversial call of the tournament. In the final seconds of the Bruins second round game with SMU, UCLA’s Bryce Alford let go a 3-pointer from the left wing. The Mustangs Yanick Moreira leaped and touched the ball just as it was about to touch the rim. The officials called goaltending, the correct call, and the Bruins went on to win. Alford wound up with 27 points, hitting 9-of-11 3-pointers. UCLA then went on and crushed UAB, another 14th-seeded team that made the Round of 32. The Blazers beat No. 3 Iowa State 60-59 in the second round to advance. UCLA will face Gonzaga/Iowa in the Sweet 16.
No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds Ousted
All four No. 1 and No. 2 seeds won their opening games. None of the No. 1 seeds struggled as they all cruised to easy victories. Number two seeds Arizona and Kansas recorded easy wins, while Virginia and Gonzaga won by double digits facing challenges from Belmont and North Dakota State, respectively.
But, Saturday and Sunday were rough on the top seeds. For the sixth consecutive year, Villanova did make it past the Round of 32. The Wildcats fells victim to eighth-seeded N.C. State, 71-68. Ultimately, it was poor shooting that did Villanova in. Coach Jay Wright’s squad shot just 31 percent from the floor.
Many who predicted a Villanova-Virginia East Regional final will be greatly disappointed as the second-seeded Cavaliers also lost on Sunday. For the second straight season, Virginia was knocked out the tournament by Michigan State. Spartans guard Travis Trice scored 23 points to lead MSU to yet another Sweet 16.
The Midwest Region lost its No. 2 seed when Wichita State upset Kansas in convincing fashion, 78-65. The Jayhawks and head coach Bill Self have not scheduled the Shockers in years even though the two schools are separated by just 170 miles. The Shockers have now made the Sweet 16 in two of the past three seasons.
Interesting Sweet 16 Facts
For the first time since 1998, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, and North Carolina – some of the nation’s most storied college basketball programs – will all take part in the Sweet Sixteen. With 11 national championships, UCLA leads all of college basketball and Kentucky is closing in with eight. The Wildcats are also the winningest college basketball program of all time with 2,176 wins since beginning play in 1903. In fact, all four teams are among the top 10 winningest programs of all time. Each school’s winning percentage is at least 69 percent. Kentucky (2012), Duke (2010), and North Carolina (2009) have each won titles in the past six seasons. The Bruins, who made the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive season, last won a title in 1995 under head coach Jim Harrick.
Louisville’s Run
With a 66-53 win over Northern Iowa, fourth-seeded Louisville advanced to the East Region semifinals. It will be the Cardinals 21st trip to a Sweet Sixteen and the program’s fourth consecutive, all under head coach Rick Pitino. The Cardinals, which won the national championship two seasons ago, are also among the winningest programs in the nation, winning 67 percent of their games all time. Pitino and company will have their hands full next weekend when they take on surprising N.C. State, which upset top seeded Villanova in the East Region.
Notre Dame And Michigan State
It’s the first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 12 years for Notre Dame, who needed overtime to get past a pesky Butler squad. They will face another mid-major, Wichita State, that has plenty of NCAA tournament success. Michigan State, with its victory over Virginia, advanced to its seventh Sweet Sixteen in the past eight seasons. Never count out the Spartans and head coach Tom Izzo. They are 13-1 under Izzo when playing in the Round of 32.
The 2015 Major League Baseball season is approaching as the Cactus League action starts to heat up in Arizona. As the spring moves along roster moves continue to be made as minor league players are shipped to minor league camp reducing the roster sizes equaling more playing time for potential Major League players.
This also gives us a chance to take a look at which teams have performed well in the Cactus League. Plus, this is also a great time to look at what individual players have stood out over the first few weeks of spring ball.
While the standings don’t mean much we do see a very similar trend atop the Cactus League. The top four teams include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A’s. All four of these teams are coming off impressive 2014 campaigns are early favorites for the 2015 MLB season.
Along with these four teams a few of the other top performing teams over the first few weeks include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. When you look at each of these teams on paper entering the season they can all contend for a title in 2015.
The first three teams the Diamondbacks, Rockies and Reds have all had injury bugs over the past few years. Last season the Diamondbacks were without Paul Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo for a combined 130 games in 2014. The Rockies were in the same boat with both Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. When the two can stay healthy they are two of the top players in the game.
The last of those teams the San Diego Padres went out this off-season and spent a ton of money. The moves have paid off this spring as Matt Kemp, Will Middlebrooks, Will Myers and Justin Upton have combined to hit eight home runs this spring and drive in 21 runs. The last key off-season moves James Shields has pitched well this spring in four starts. In those starts Shields has pitched 12 innings allowing just three earned runs and striking out 16 hitters.
On the bottom of the Cactus League sits the defending World Series champions the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have played to a 6-16 record during the spring but like we said earlier spring training standings don’t have any indication on how the season will turn. The Giants have seen the injury bug early including center fielder Angel Pagan who has appeared in only seven games this spring.
Now as we start to look at individual performances this spring the first one that stands out from is Kris Bryant. The Chicago Cubs top prospect and future third baseman has hit the cover off the ball this spring. In 10 games this spring, Bryant has 12 hits in 25 at bats including two doubles, eight home runs and 14 runs driven in. This hot start presents the Cubs with a major dilemma before the start of the season either send him to the minors to save his service time or start him on the major league roster.
While Bryant has been the one player that has stood out from the Cactus league he isn’t the only one that has performed well this spring. Here is a list of a few of the top performers in the Cactus League this spring.
Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies: The Rockies third baseman has shown at times over the past two seasons he can be a big time power threat in the majors. The concerns have been his ability to stay healthy playing in just 111 games last season. Early on this spring Arenado has performed well hitting .308 in 14 games with four doubles, four home runs and 11 runs batted in. If the Rockies can see a full season out of Arenado as well as Tulowitzki and Cargo they could make the National League West an interesting division.
Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants: Belt enters 2015 looking to bounce back after a season in which he only appeared in 61 games. That being said he was able to produce 12 home runs in just 214 at bats in that stretch. This spring Belt has hit .325 with one double, two triples and three home runs. The Giants will need Belt to produce at this level to replace the missing production of Pablo Sandoval who departed during free agency.
Jason Marquis, Cincinnati Reds: The veteran starter is looking to make his first appearance back in the majors since 2013. The Reds starter has pitched well this spring allowing seven earned runs over 20 innings pitched making him an interesting storyline entering the 2015 season. The Reds could use him to step in after the team traded Alfredo Simon to the Detroit Tigers this off-season.
Kendall Graveman, Oakland A’s: Billy Beane and company seems to always find another new piece to the puzzle and that looks like it could be Graveman in 2015. Graveman has pitched well in four starts this spring allowing just one run over 15 innings worked. The A’s starter could fill in for one of the few key pieces lost this off-season in the rotation.
The intro for last night’s The Walking Dead episode, “Try” was as jumbled up as poor Aiden’s terrible ‘Run Mix’ CD. The awful music was a reminder of how grateful I am that he met his maker last week due to his own stupidity. The intro ranged from Carol cooking up a casserole to Sasha on the verge of losing her mind, then a glimpse of Deanna’s family dealing with the loss of their son Aiden. The former Congress Critter was not accepting of the meal Carol had prepared and promptly burned up the sympathy note. The scene of the walker stepping on the family photo in a broken frame was very fitting to what happened this week.
Daryl and Aaron are doing some scouting outside the gates and they see some signs of human life. Scouting at night doesn’t seem to be the safest way to go about things with the undead roaming around. But it is better for sneaking up on the living I guess.
As predicted, Glenn and Nicholas have very different accounts of what happened at the warehouse. Nicholas the coward paints a picture of him trying to save Aiden while Glenn and company wanted to abandon him. His story is recorded by Deanna while Glenn is telling an opposite story, the truthful version, to Rick. Surely Deanna knows how cowardly Nicholas really is. She can’t be blind, but maybe she has never seen him on the outside where things are quite different from her walled garden. Glenn made it clear to Rick that they “have to make this work,” despite what happened at the warehouse.
Carol relays the story that Sam told her about his dad Pete yelling at his mom and finding her unconscious on the floor. Rick is mulling over just what to do when the woman-beating Pete strolls by and says hello. Rick’s cold response was simple, “Keep walking.” Pete wisely does just that and lives to see another sunrise. This was such a tense scene as Rick was barely holding on from taking his gun and killing Pete right on the spot.
Rosita and Michonne, who needs some pajamas, head out to look for Sasha, who is headed over the edge of sanity. She is apparently out hunting walkers for the hell of it. Michonne is out in the real world without her sword. She realizes she is becoming too comfortable.
Deanna and Rick have some serious talk by several headstones. Viewers can assume that one of them is Aiden’s although his body clearly was never recovered. Rick breaks the news about Pete hitting Jessie, which comes as no surprise to Deanna. She knows about it and had “hoped it would get better.” Rick wants to separate the couple to protect her and the kids. Deanna says no and has a good reason….dude is valuable as a surgeon. Now, is this a moral reason to let him continue his abuse of Jessie? Of course not, but is it for the greater good of the group? Unless they can find another doctor really quickly I would say it is for the greater good to keep Pete happy. Me, I would kill the doctor and the greater good can work itself out…until, of course, someone is in dire need of a doctor. Deanna’s solution would be to exile Pete if things escalated. She wouldn’t consider execution under any circumstances no matter Rick’s opinion. Deanna is also under the impression Rick could be exiled if he didn’t tow the line, a thought I laughed at and later took more seriously. She’s definitely one to be taken seriously, but it still doesn’t dawn on her that exiling someone can wind up coming back to haunt you in the end.
One of the brighter story lines was Carl finding a bit of puppy love with Enid. They hang out a bit in the woods and eventually hide in a hollow tree trunk as some zombies pass by. They come close to a kiss and she sees Carl is just as afraid of her as she is of him. The sooner he ditches the hat and gets a decent haircut, the better off he will be and we as the viewers also.
Glenn lets Nicholas know that the coward is no longer welcome on the outside. Glenn tells him, “People like you should be dead.” He is correct of course. The walls are doing a good job of keeping the naive Alexandrians sheltered from the brutality of the real world. I’m not sure why Nicholas is upset about being banned from heading out into danger. He should be glad to let Glenn and crew do all the dangerous shit. He could hang out in Alexandria living a perfect life. We do see later that Nicholas is the one who took Rick’s hidden gun. He now takes it with him so something wicked this way comes from him.
Michonne and Rosita finally catch up to Sasha who is capping walkers galore. She doesn’t want their help, but eventually the pair do end up killing off a few undead. Sasha is pissed that Michonne has found happiness in this new environment, however it’s not like Michonne hasn’t lost anyone. This scene was pretty powerful as Michonne could relate to what Sasha was doing, and trying to take some control of her situation by clearing a huge path of walkers out. Michonne went through a similar thing as was shown in the flashback, and then she went ahead and started blasting away at them too followed shortly after by Rosita. It dawned on them that Alexandria could easily give them a false sense of security while also softening them from the outside world.
Daryl and Aaron find some dismembered walkers along with a woman tied to a tree apparently as bait for the walkers. This is pretty sickening stuff done by the group branding a “W” on foreheads. I can imagine the “Wolves” will make some kind of appearance in next week’s season finale. I’m tempted more than ever to get some spoiler info, but I am resisting for now. One thought that would be interesting is if the ‘W’ was actually an upset down ‘M’ for Morgan since he’s out there watching the gang still. Just a thought…
The conversation between Rick and Jessie seemed to go nowhere as he confronted her with his knowledge of her abuse. She turns down his help until he makes a second attempt at convincing her Pete must go. The info about her son wanting a gun so he can protect his mama was enough to convince her now. She asks if he would do this for someone else and he says no so she agrees to have Pete killed. Pete is dead man walking from this point forward. The camera angles were brilliant during this scene, as one minute you saw the open door, and the next it was Jessie’s eyes waiting for that moment when Pete stumbles upon the two.
Speak of the devil. Pete comes in on Jessie and Rick as they stand in the family kitchen. Dude is irate! He does something that smart people in our world don’t do. He attacked a policeman. In our world Pete would have to deal with the entire force coming after him, but in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe he knows Rick is basically alone with no radio to call in backup. Maybe Pete didn’t think this as far through as me and is simply an angry drunk who likes to hit folks. This solo officer may be alone with no backup, but he has quite a mean streak developed from killing his best friend, biting the jugular vein out of a guy, and hacking to death a cannibal in the middle of a church.
I’ll give credit to Pete. He may be a cowardly beater of females, but he can take a punch. He went on the offensive with Rick and was matching the constable blow for blow and choke for choke. Rick was not doing so well until Jessie tried to pull Pete off his full mount position. Rick then reversed things and wound up with a rear naked choke hold on Pete as a kid’s red balloon sailed sadly into the sky.
Deanna demanded Rick let him go as more townspeople approached the lawman. That’s when Rick Grimes pulled the stolen gat and started his monologue looking like a bloodied madman. Carol was almost giddy as Rick threatened Deanna and her people, telling them how weak they were. To the Alexandrians, Rick looked like barbarian. To the audience he looks like a hero. He is both. That’s what his world requires in a leader, but there was a point when he looked like he was ready to start making those phone calls to Lori again.
It takes a lot for a TV show to shock me. The ending of “Try” did just that though. I never expected Michonne would KO Rick. She came out of nowhere to knock her fellow LEO off Pete and into unconsciousness most likely. Michonne didn’t know about Pete being an abuser so maybe that would have changed the course of events, but I’m not totally sure. This shocker wasn’t ‘The Red Wedding’ in GOT, but it was pretty great. It made sense to have Michonne take Rick down as she was his equal as constable, plus it was a good show for the townspeople to know that she was able to control the situation. If Rick had continued, you almost wonder if someone might have gotten shot as he was using the gun for emphasis when he was talking. That’s usually when it misfires, and that would have quickly been the demise of the gang in Alexandria. Now, there’s an old fashioned town meeting to look forward to next week regarding Rick.
The exile of Rick’s that seemed laughable at the start of the episode now seems imminent. Maybe the entire group gets ran off like a pack of rabid dogs. Next week’s preview only shows Rick making the lonely walk away however. If Deanna was really smart, she would heed Rick’s advice about the dangers of exile as opposed to execution. Can’t wait for the finale next week, and thankfully, it’s 90 minutes long so expect a lot of shock and awe. It sucks that we will have a summer of no WD, but luckily Game of Thrones starts up on April 12th.
On this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race the drag queens saw a goodbye message from Sasha written in lipstick on a mirror in the room the drag queens spend much of their time in during the show. Kat Dennings and Mel B. were announced as this week’s guest judges.
RuPaul then came into the room riding a Hover Round. For the mini challenge the pit crew brought in wigs. A Soul Train dance line is the task the drag queens have to prepare themselves for this week. Each drag queen was given 15 minutes to transform their look to that of an elderly woman. Once every one was finished their new look they each took turns dancing for the other drag queens. RuPaul then announced that the two drag queens who won the mini challenge were Kennedy Davenport and Max.
He then announced that this week’s Maxi challenge was for the drag queens to act in skewered versions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth called Macbitch and Romeo and Juliet called Romy Ho. Max and Kennedy Davenport got to choose which drag queens they wanted on their team. They chose Ginger, Trixie, Katya, Kasha Davis, Pearl, Jayden and Kandi. Miss Violet was one of the last drag queens chosen. The two teams then separated and went to work on the challenge.
Pearl said he didn’t even know what Macbeth is and blamed it on being so young. Max stated that he has legitimate Shakespearean experience. Jasmine was chosen by his team to play the role of Macbitch.
When it was time to perform Team Max did horribly, mispronouncing words and flubbing lines. Jaidynn, who was playing Mercucia in Romy Ho & Juliet, became so upset during the performance that he started sobbing on stage right in front of RuPaul. His teammates then told him he could do it and that he was a fabulous actress. Kasha then said that he felt Jaidynn’s performance had hurt the whole team and that he may have lost the challenge for them.
Team Kennedy Davenport took the stage next and also had problems remembering their lines. Pearl screwed up his performance and RuPaul looked less than impressed with the team. RuPaul then asked Kennedy if he had made the team rehearse. He then said in the seven seasons he has done his show he has never seen a “car crash” that bad.
On Elimination Day Pearl said he was feeling horrible. He called the Shakespearean performances the day before the worst day of his life.
At the Main Stage RuPaul greeted fellow judges. Kat Dennings said she was having the best day of her life. RuPaul then announced the runway show was beginning for the drag queens. Each drag queen had to have a beard and an outfit that would impress the judges.
RuPaul’s team of judges was shown footage of Team Max performing Romy. They were then shown footage of Team Davenport performing Macbitch. RuPaul then announced that the votes were in and that of the two teams, one of them was safe from elimination. Max was then declared the winner of this week’s challenge. He won two latex outfits from Couture as a reward.
Team Davenport was then told that they were not safe and that someone from their team was going home this week. Mel B said Kennedy’s outfit was the worst one she had seen this week and that Kennedy was already in bad shape because her team performed so badly in the challenge. Jasmine was told by RuPaul that the gown she wore for the challenge was gorgeous. RuPaul then told Jasmine that she didn’t know her lines. Carson Kressley said Pearl used creative materials for her costume for the challenge. Kandy Ho was praised by the judges for both her costume and her performance. Violet was told she looked elegant and pretty despite having a full beard. Kennedy said he was taking responsibility for the team having given a bad performance. RuPaul told them they always have to be prepared to perform in this competition as well as in life and she didn’t want to hear any excuses. RuPaul then sent the team away so that the judges could discuss who was going home this week. When RuPaul had made her decision she brought the team back in. Kandy Ho, Violet, Pearl and Katya were safe while Jasmine and Kennedy were up for elimination. RuPaul told Pearl he was getting one more chance to “wake up.” The two were then challenged to a lip sync competition where the loser goes home. Kennedy was told she could stay but Jasmine was told by RuPaul that she was a prima donna and a true diva. Jasmine was then eliminated from the competition. He said he was ok with losing to Kennedy because he considered her a sister.
You can check out the full unedited RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked below”
I gotta say, another great episode this week from ‘Better Call Saul‘. The show gets better each week. This week we saw Jimmy once again do the right thing. Mike too. Betsy Kettleman mulls over starting a prison gang and Kim gets punished unjustly.
The beginning scene is simply the tying up of last week’s coffee spill notebook theft from the young detective outta Philly. Jimmy and Mike obviously had to return the notepad that was snatched. Jimmy did the vast majority of talking so Mike didn’t screw up the situation. “The ambulance chasing son of a bitch,” according to the young detective, was as guilty as Mike of stealing. But our slick lawyer hero, getting slicker each week, tells them that he did have the note pad, but just happened upon it when they drove in the station parking lot. Hard to disprove. Mike had a conversation with the older detective and dismissed Jimmy. He clearly trusted this guy and it appeared the cop wanted Mike clear of all this. He felt like Hoffman and Fensky got what they deserved. Saul had what I figured to be another depressing visit to his brother’s house. I was surprised to see old Chuck outdoors trying to cure himself of his “allergy” to electricity. He appears to be starting a road to mental recovery and Jimmy leaves some case files there to store. It’s really a ploy to get Chuck to get to work and maybe get back to normal. Jimmy’s elder law business is booming thanks to some more creative marketing. This time he is running a bingo game for senior citizens, complete with his face on the cards.
Jimmy is going to lease a fancy new office space. Anything is fancy compared to the closet he now presides over. He shows Kim around and offers her the office with the better view as a partner. She says she owes Hamlin too much. Once again Jimmy McGill is looking up at Howard Hamlin.
I wish the Kettlemans could stay around forever. They are a hilarious duo. Craig is a weakling that is easily dominated by the delusional Betsy. They meet with Kim who says they need to take a deal from the D.A. She says a court case is not winnable. Oh and they have to return the money…every fucking dime! That doesn’t sit well with Betsy who clearly is OK with her hubby sitting in prison for 30 years. So she promptly fires Kim. That leads to Kim being in the dog house with Howard Hamlim.
The Kettlemans seek out Jimmy to take their case on, but he explains he is covered up with work. He advises them to just take the deal that Kim has worked out for them, but Betsy is insane so she holds the “retainer” they paid to Jimmy over his crooked head. Our boy certainly doesn’t want to give back his $30,000 and he can’t have the Kettlecrazies mentioning his name to the authorities. But those options would be on the table if the couple takes a deal and accounts for every dollar. Betsy is pretty good at getting leverage on folks. Jimmy is now sidetracked from his “chosen” specialty, elder law. Dude was doing good and now these thieves are going to occupy his time on a case that Kim says is impossible to win and there are no loopholes to be found. Kim is being punished by Hamlim for losing the Kettlemans by the way. The firm should have been proud to be rid of them. How were they going to pay the lawyers if they handed over the mil point six anyway? Jimmy isn’t one to be outwitted so he gets Mike to go on a money grab. Mike sets the Kettlemans up to find a stack of cash on a remote control car. The couple assumes the kids put it there and put the stack, which is from Jimmy’s pile, back in the hiding spot. Mike locates the money bag easily with the blue light and special spray that can easily be found at any spy store online. Mike does have to skirt some breaking and entering laws….he breaks and enters. Mike takes the bag filled with the 1.6 million dollars to Jimmy. Mike did the honest thing in this case when he could have easily bounced to a remote island and lived a comfortable life. Had he known how things would go in the last few episodes of ‘Breaking Bad‘, I’m sure he would have made a run for it. No one could have stopped him or ratted him out.
Jimmy sends the bag over to the D.A. and lets Kim know what is happening. He then has the pleasure of talking with the Kettlemans once again. He takes the opportunity to tell Betsy that the money is no longer in there hiding spot under the sink. Bitch flipped out and Jimmy is lucky he wasn’t physically attacked by the loon! “You thief, I’ll have you arrested,” rang really hollow from Betsy. Jimmy kindly reminded her that “criminals have no recourse.” He points out that she is guilty of bribing a court official so it’s no longer just her spineless husband who will be in the pokey if she decides to open her big mouth. Leverage gone. Betsy in tears. Jimmy doing good deeds…and dropping the line of the week, telling Betsy “that she will probably end up running her own prison gang.”
Kim likely got out of the Hamlin doghouse as the Kettlemans had to slink their way back to her. The Kettlemans did a nice job getting over on the county with the embezzlement, but were inept at covering it up. Amateurs indeed. The closing scene sucked for Jimmy as he went on a mini rampage in his new office, kicking around a poor door. It sucks to think about what he could have done with that sack full of cash, just like Mike. Now he gets to stay on that grind with the elder law deal, holding a Bob Barker type mic at big bingo tournaments. But without the struggle to rise up, we get no new episode next week. Thankfully Jimmy had to give the money up and keep answering his phone with all the enthusiasm he can muster.
Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United have dealt a major blow to Liverpool’s Champions Premier League hopes. The Merseyside giants lost at home after a stellar performance from Juan Mata. The little Spaniard scored two fantastic goals in the 2 – 1 victory at Anfield.
The former Chelsea midfielder has immortalized himself in the hearts of Old Trafford faithful after netting one of the most spectacular goals of the season and that too at the home of their fiercest rivals. Liverpool were unbeaten in their last five league games and were tipped to finish in top four. But Brendan Rodgers’ men had no answers to United’s attack on Sunday. Steven Gerrard got his marching orders within a minute after being substituted after the break. The Liverpool skipper lost his cool and stamped on Anders Herrera’s shin. This blunder by the outgoing legend affected the outcome of the match as Liverpool were trailing by only one goal and after being reduced to ten men they were automatically pressurized by the opponents. United were successful in picking up three points at one of the most difficult stadiums in England. The momentum is now on their side as they have already defeated two of the contenders for the European spot in successive match weeks. The 20-time English champions are fourth on the table, five points ahead of Liverpool.
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were entertained by Hull City at the weekend and the score after final whistle was 3 – 2 in favor of the Blues. Steve Bruce’s side didn’t give up easily and gave the league leaders a run for their money. The second placed, Manchester City bounced back from last week’s Champions League defeat at Camp Nou. The Citizens recorded a comfortable victory over West Brom at the weekend. The latest addition to Pellegrini’s squad, Wilfried Bony scored his debut league goal for the English champions. David Silva was yet again on the score sheet and his goal ensured a 3 – 0 win over the visitors.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are putting pressure on City each week. Olivier Giroud’s two goals in the first half gave a comfortable cushion to the Gunners. But Newcastle United struck in the 48th minute through Sissoko and gave worries to the North Londoners for the remaining duration. The Toons definitely deserved a point or more after putting in a great second half performance.
All the top teams in the Premier League except Liverpool won in this game week. Southampton won 2 – 0 at home against Burnley. Shane Long’s 37th minute strike gave Saints the lead and Shackell’s 58th minute own goal kept them in contention for the place in European competitions. Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham defeated Leicester City 4 – 3 at White Hart Lane. Harry Kane continues his goal scoring run in the league and is now leading the goal scoring charts. His hat-trick on Saturday pushed him above Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero and with eight games to go, he is now the favorite to clinch the top scorer award.
West Ham invited Sunderland in the late kick-off at Upton Park on Saturday. Sakho’s 88th minute goal broke the hearts of Sunderland fans and Dick Advocaat’s side are nearing the relegation zone. The Dutch manager has urged his team to start winning ugly after losing his debut game for the club.
QPR lost to Everton on Sunday and now the Rangers seem to be in big trouble. They have accumulated only 22 points in 30 games. The teams at the foot of the table have eight matches to save their season and things in the Premier League will get exciting with every passing week.
Most of us assume that pro NFL players do their job on the field, and once they’re off, it’s a freewheeling good ole time drinking, sexing and anything else they do to empty those bulging bank accounts. Baltimore Ravens John Urschel is quite the opposite of the stereotype, and rather than hide behind his intelligence, he’s rather proud of it. He truly is that rough and tumble guy you can bring home to meet the parents for some meaningful conversation.
John Urschel is an offensive lineman for the NFL Baltimore Ravens whose Twitter handle is @MathMeetsFball. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math, both with a 4.0 grade-point average. And this week he tweeted:
My paper, A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector…, has been published in the Journal of Computational Mathematics
Now, man Americans aren’t so great at match, especially this kind, so here’s a link to the full paper, and for those that like to skim, here’s the abstract just below:
“In this paper, we develop a cascadic multigrid algorithm for fast computation of the Fiedler vector of a graph Laplacian, namely, the eigenvector corresponding to the second smallest eigenvalue. This vector has been found to have applications in fields such as graph partitioning and graph drawing. The algorithm is a purely algebraic approach based on a heavy edge coarsening scheme and pointwise smoothing for refinement. To gain theoretical insight, we also consider the related cascadic multigrid method in the geometric setting for elliptic eigenvalue problems and show its uniform convergence under certain assumptions. Numerical tests are presented for computing the Fiedler vector of several practical graphs, and numerical results show the efficiency and optimality of our proposed cascadic multigrid algorithm.”
The publications aren’t shocking if you know Urschel’s history, mind you. As he explains, number-crunching and rough-and-tumble sports have been his passions for years. He may “love hitting people” for a living, but he also plays chess and conducts math research in his spare time. About his only major concern right now is that a nasty collision might put his studies to an end — in other words, he’ll likely keep up this seemingly contradictory lifestyle for as long as possible. Don’t be surprised if the next discovery in machine learning (one of Urschel’s fields of interest) comes from a human steamroller.
In an essay in The Players’ Tribune on the sudden retirement this week of Chris Borland, the 24-year-old linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, Urschel wrote that he’s often asked why he plays football. He wrote:
“I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I already have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with. I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year. It’s not because I’m frugal or trying to save for some big purchase, it’s because the things I love the most in this world (reading math, doing research, playing chess) are very, very inexpensive.”
So why does he play — despite the risks? He writes:
“I play because I love the game. I love hitting people. There’s a rush you get when you go out on the field, lay everything on the line and physically dominate the player across from you. This is a feeling I’m (for lack of a better word) addicted to, and I’m hard-pressed to find anywhere else. My teammates, friends and family can attest to this: When I go too long without physical contact I’m not a pleasant person to be around. This is why, every offseason, I train in kickboxing and wrestling in addition to my lifting, running and position-specific drill work. I’ve fallen in love with the sport of football and the physical contact associated with it.”
Door chains are a must have when it comes to home security. It’s basically a last line of defense to keep an intruder or someone unwelcome from barging into an unlocked door. In the US Senate Intelligence Committee, one senator metaphorically acted as that door chain to keep a potentially dangerous bill from passing in the Senate. He didn’t exactly stop the bill from passing, but his opposition might as well be a rallying cry to other privacy advocates to support further scrutiny of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014 before it passes into law.
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014 or CISA passed the Senate Intelligence Committee by a 14-1 vote. That one opposing vote belongs to Democrat Senator Ron Wyden. He refers to the CISA as another attempt by the government to put US citizens under surveillance in the name of national security.
“This information sharing is only acceptable if there are strong protections for the privacy rights of law-abiding American citizens… If information-sharing legislation does not include adequate privacy protections, then that’s not a cybersecurity bill – it’s a surveillance bill by another name.”
–Senator Ron Wyden (D—OR)
The CISA is a bill designed to guarantee additional security against the recent wave of hacking incidents that targeted government agencies and private businesses. This bill will allow the sharing of internet traffic data related to hacking incidents between the government and affected private businesses and institutions. This will supposedly help the government in designing more safeguards by analyzing the breaches in order to prevent the same occurrence. Companies that share their data are entitled to expanded legal liability protection.
A similar bill called the CISPA or Cyber Intelligence Information Sharing and Protection Act was passed last year by the senate in a 12-3 vote but failed to gain traction with the administration because of much opposition by internet privacy and civil liberty advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Free Press. This time, the CISA gained two additional points due to the recent wave of hacking incidents. 2014 was a field day for hackers connected to rogue states, criminal organizations and hacker groups. Over 1,500 worldwide data breaches have occurred in 2014 which is a fifty percent rise from 2013. Home Depot and Target lost over 120 million personal and credit card information to hackers. Sony Pictures became victim to a data breach from alleged North Korean hackers due to its portrayal of North Korea’s head of state Kim Jong Un in one of its films. Because of the breach, several upcoming films were illegally released in the internet. China and the United States also exchanged accusations of hacking into each other’s government agencies and contractors. It then became logical for the Senate Intelligence Committee to support any new bills designed to aid the government against cyber-security threats.
Except for Senator Wyden, the bill’s provisions seemed satisfactory enough for an almost unanimous approval. The administration is also inclined to quickly sign the bill into law. However, privacy and civil liberties advocates have always been wary of such legislations as such bills can have the potential to be abused by the government and give them the power to spy on its own citizens; instead of doing its job to prevent domestic and external cyber-security threats; especially since the Edward Snowden revelations.
The good senator Wyden believes that the provisions for privacy are unsatisfactory. That the bill, “…lacks adequate regulations for the privacy rights of American consumers, and… will have a limited impact on US cybersecurity.” His complete statement is posted on his website. However the committee has argued that any shortcomings with regards to privacy will be discussed and addressed with compromise amendments before the bill is passed.
Senator Wyden does have a point that should a bill have weak provisions in privacy protection, it could be used as an effective surveillance tool against the country’s own citizens. He opposed the bill despite the assurances of Senators Burr and Feinstein that privacy issues would be addressed. In his statement however, he didn’t point out the unsatisfactory weak points in the bill but remained skeptical of it, paranoid as some might suggest. The other side of the coin might suggest he might be onto something the committee is not and is only looking out for the country’s interest. His skepticism did stem from previous proposals including one where the FBI suggested the manufacture of weaker IT products with backdoors.
Whether Senator Wyden’s a smart politician, a crazy naysayer or simply a horn blower depends upon people who can actually read and understand the bill itself including its latest amendments as well as anyone following related news and arguments further on.
The United States is a country with strong foundations on civil liberties unlike China, Russia and North Korea. No one wants to be under surveillance even when they have nothing to hide; unless they’re participants of a reality show. But we all keep our secrets and many of us are guilty of an illegal download or two, a stash of Twinkies in the couch, or a clandestine trip to a gentlemen’s club charged to a credit card that we don’t want the partner to know about. Point is, what we do on or offline is none of the government’s business unless it’s illegal. It’s very understandable that the government needs such a bill like CISA as quickly as possible. In fact, the government needed a law passed yesterday. Still, it does need to be careful not to trample on certain rights otherwise, instead of becoming additional security, it will just be another intruder at the door.
Everyone has bad days now and then, but when you think about it, it’s often the same person who’s the root cause of the upset. For many people in a job, it’s their boss. While it may seem to be a bit of a cliché to complain about your boss, it’s funny how often it’s them who add stress and misery to your day rather than one of your co-workers.
Of course, in a way, that’s part of their job. They have to get the best performance out of the people they manage (the boss has their own boss to keep happy), and some people just aren’t that great at people-management. So, instead of working with you in a co-operative way, they take the high-handed approach, ordering people to deliver what they need rather than asking them nicely. They may not win many friends this way, but if they meet their targets, do they really care?
There are lots of good bosses out there, too, but it’s the characteristics of the bad ones that people have known during their careers that make good material for movies about life at work.
Bgo, the online gaming site, has taken this theme and created its own casino boss for the website. The ‘boss’ is played perfectly by Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini-me in the Austin Powers movies. Players are challenged to ‘beat the boss’ and you’re given the impression that if the boss is beaten, he’ll take it personally! The site’s blog has recently featured a list of movies that show the hard-done-by employees getting one over their mean bosses. It’s worth a look if you want inspiration for an uplifting movie to watch after a hard day at work.
The bgo list includes movies that may not have been a big box office hit when they were released, but they’ve risen to cult movie status as so many people can identify with the characters’ difficult times that they go through at work. A prime example is Office Space (1999) which is all about the mundanity of working life. Peter Gibbons, the hero of the film, decides he’s so sick of working at big firm Initech that he’ll do all that he can to get fired. However, his insubordination has the opposite effect to what he was hoping and he ends up getting promoted. He decides to turn this unexpected development to his advantage, though, and uses his new power to make his former manager, Bill Lumbergh, suffer.
Not on the bgo list, but another film that certainly shows how much pressure a manager can put on someone is Anger Management, the 2003 comedy hit starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. Sandler plays the part of Dave Buznik, who has anger management issues thanks to being de-bagged as a kid, when he was about to give a girl his first kiss. Everyone makes Dave angry, but especially his abusive boss Frank, who always takes the credit for the hard work that Dave does.
Photo Source by TRF_Mr_Hyde
The film is a great one to watch for anyone who ever flashes to anger. Dave spends his days getting mad over nothing, so his girlfriend decides to take extreme actions to get him to deal with his anger issues with the help of anger management consultant, Buddy Rydell, expertly played by Nicholson. During his treatment, Dave finally gets to tell his boss what he thinks of him and smashes up his office with a golf club at the same time.
It is the kind of fantasy that anyone with a domineering boss or manager might have, but never actually carry out in reality. Watching a fictionalized version of what you would like to do, though, can still cheer you up!
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the top two players in the world, met in the Indian Wells final on Sunday (the 2015 BNP Paribas Open). Their match is complete and Djokovic claimed the title, the 50th ATP title of his career, with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory.
With the win, Djokovic avenged a recent loss to Federer. The two players had met on tour not long ago in the ATP Dubai final. On that day, Federer claimed the title however the current World No. 1, who now improves to 18-20 heads up against the Swiss Maestro, would not be denied in the bigger event.
Next up for Djokovic is the 2015 Miami Masters, another Masters Series 1000 tournament that will get underway this week from Florida. Djokovic, following so much hard court success already this season, enters the Miami event as the odds on favorite to win outright (Source: 888Sport).
A large tournament, the final in Miami will not be played until April 5th. Even though Djokovic enters the event having played the most tennis on tour in recent days, fatigue should not be a factor both due to his superior conditioning and the fact that his first match in Miami is still several days away.
Next up for Federer is the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Federer, who turns 34-years old in 2015, will not contest the Miami draw this season, perhaps electing to better prepare himself for the quickly approaching clay court season. Ahead of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros later this spring, Federer is also expected to contest ATP Istanbul, ATP Madrid, and ATP Rome.
The complexion of the Top Ten will not change that much following the result from Indian Wells. Milos Raonic, the only surprise semifinalist, will remain the World No. 6 although he is within a stone’s throw of the World No. 3 ranking. David Ferrer will budge up one spot to the World No. 7 position, supplanting Stan Wawrinka, who will drop down to eighth.
Within the Top 100, there will be some shakeups following the results from California. Notably, Alexandr Dolgopolov will fall well out of the Top 50 as he had done well in Indian Wells last season and only made the round of 32 this year. Jack Sock, a player who made the round of sixteen in Indian Wells, will crack the Top 50. Moreover, both Bernard Tomic and Adrian Mannarino will move up a bit following some wins in the Masters Series event.
The upcoming Miami Masters will conclude the American hard court swing with clay court events in Casablanca and Houston to follow.
